Explore The Turquoise Coast
East of Finike, Highway 400 runs dead straight before turning ninety degrees to enter the high-rise market town of Kumluca. Beyond here, it curls up through the Beydağları National Park, comprising a spectacular sequence of densely pine-forested ridges and precipitous bare cliffs. Hidden at the mouths of canyons plunging to the sea are two relatively unspoiled beach resorts: Adrasan and Olympos/Çıralı. If you’re heading towards either by your own transport, leave the main highway for the narrow but paved side road that veers off east of Kumluca, signposted “Beykonak, Mavikent”. This short cut rollercoasters through forested valleys and along dramatic coastline to Gelidonya Burnu, with its lighthouse and scenic sections of the Lycian Way, before emerging at Çavuş, the nearest proper village to Adrasan and Olympos. The only trick en route involves turning left (north) at a signposted junction near the outskirts of Karaöz, the last bay and village before Gelidonya Burnu.
Read More-
Adrasan
Adrasan
About 12km beyond Kumluca on Highway 400, a steep if paved side road descends to Çavuş village and the bay of Adrasan. Whether you arrive from this direction, or from Mavikent, turn east in the village centre onto the seaward road (marked “Sahil”), following hotel placards for 4km to emerge under the shadow of pointy Musa Dağı at ADRASAN, an attractive beach resort, more mainstream and less hip than Çıralı. Though falling within national park boundaries, development (including second-home building) is proceeding slowly.
-
The Lycian Way at Gelidonya Burnu
The Lycian Way at Gelidonya Burnu
From Karaöz, an obvious dirt road beginning at the small pebbly beach heads south along the coast towards the cape. About 6.5km from Karaöz, leave the track in favour of the marked Lycian Way, now a steadily rising path through oaks and pines; from the trailhead it’s just under an hour with a daypack (round-trip) to the picturesque lighthouse just above Taşlık Burnu (as Gelidonya Burnu, “Swallow Cape”, has been officially renamed). The photogenic lighthouse, French-built in 1936, is not currently inhabited, though the keeper bikes out from Karaöz at dusk to light the lamp. Beyond the cape straggle the treacherous Beş Adalar (Five Islands), shipping hazards that have caused many a wreck, including an ancient one which yielded a huge amount of treasure to archeological divers during the 1960s.
North of the lighthouse, the Lycian Way threads deserted hillside between the sea and a high ridge on its six-hour course to Adrasan (path or cross-country except for the last hour). This dramatic bit has become a popular organized group target, so you’ll probably have company.
